diff --git a/integration/image_load_test.go b/integration/image_load_test.go
index c504cef9f..31e6d279d 100644
--- a/integration/image_load_test.go
+++ b/integration/image_load_test.go
@@ -55,8 +55,10 @@ func TestImageLoad(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Logf("load image in cri")
 	ctr, err := exec.LookPath("ctr")
 	require.NoError(t, err, "ctr should be installed, make sure you've run `make install-deps`")
+	// Add --local=true option since currently the transfer service
+	// does not provide enough progress to avoid timeout
 	output, err = exec.Command(ctr, "-address="+containerdEndpoint,
-		"-n=k8s.io", "images", "import", tar).CombinedOutput()
+		"-n=k8s.io", "images", "import", "--local=true", tar).CombinedOutput()
 	require.NoError(t, err, "output: %q", output)
 
 	t.Logf("make sure image is loaded")